How Bali's medical landscape changed forever following terror attacks

While the Bali terror attacks in 2002 cast a dark cloud over the holiday island, there were some silver linings to come out of the horrifying incident.

Following the attack, Australia helped develop a state-of-the-art hospital in Bali and a nurse from Down Under helped with changing the medical landscape on the island forever.

"When I first walked into the existing intensive care unit, it was nothing like I was used to back in Brisbane; it was far from that," nurse Sean Birgan told A Current Affair about the hospital conditions he first encountered upon arriving in Bali.

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"They were working in facilities like nothing I'd seen before, with minimal equipment and really basic critical care facilities."

Birgan was a nurse in Brisbane when he got the call to commission the new hospital wings in Bali and he helped to revolutionise its medical services.

Birgan said "most health services in the world would struggle to cope with that large number of casualties", but that was a scenario Bali was faced with on October 12, 2002 when Kuta's streets became crowded with wounded victims who were clinging to their lives.

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Birgan moved his family to Bali in 2004 and started the task of building the new wards and setting up new equipment.

He said he even showed the staff how to use a microwave, but they taught him a lot too and he became lifelong friends with many of those he worked with.

"They taught me that basic care - excellent nursing care - can be delivered without a whole lot of sophisticated equipment," Birgan said, as he revisited Bali this week.

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Things needed to change

Following the attacks in Kuta, Denpasar's Sanglah Hospital wards - which are just 10 kilometres away from the bombing site - were overwhelmed.

"A large number of patients with burns were sent by ambulance," Dr Ketut Ariawati said.

Survivors and those who didn't make it were in every part of Bali's main hospital and at the time, Ariawati was there working through the horror.

"It last(ed) for several weeks after (the) tragedy," she said.

The now-senior doctor at the Sanglah Hospital said conditions at the time were confronting for doctors, nurses and patients.

Things had to change and because of Australia's love for Bali, the Australian government decided to offer help to the Sanglah Hospital.

Australia sent aid for new construction

Then-prime minister John Howard said he saw the hospital as a memorial to those who lost their lives and much of Australia's aid went into the construction of a new building, which contained a new intensive care unit and a much needed burns unit.

A 15-bed burns unit and 14-bed intensive care unit was built, along with other hospital facilities.

"The Australian government provided assistance to improve the capacity of the health service and emergency service in Bali," Ariawati said.

The medical facility has since been called the 12 October Australia Memorial Centre and it has become a legacy of the tragedy that happened 20 years ago.

Now the hospital that helped save so many Aussies, also displays our country's emblem, thanks to millions in funding from the Australian government.